An American army colonel of considerable military respect was assigned by congress to prespare a report on the conduct of the Afghanistan war.

His report appeared a few days ago - probably not in many North American news sources. I got mine in the Guardian.  (With an e reader. you can get the Guardian for under  $20 a month.) The report is blistering.

It may sound strange to hear this from an academic historian - but Ii think sources are much overvalued in most areas of thought - especially in understanding the news.

When Staff Sgt. Major Bales killed 27 people, all the news reports carried the story that he had acted alone, left his camp in the middle of the night with his rifle and a few gallons of gasoline, walked a coujple of mlies to a village, killed 17 people, set fire to the bodies, walked back to the base, and surrendered and convessed.

Why I put this on my wall instead of my blog, I'll never know. Moving it here to make it easier to link to.

I post this so often, I'll just stick it on here for quick reference. It is by Robert T. Weston and has been a reading in at least two UU service books, including the current hymn book Singing the Living Tradition. It captures my thoughts on the subject so perfectly that I can't see any reason to write any commentary on it.

Cherish your doubts, for doubt is the handmaiden of truth.

There was a thread recently where a question was asked but not answered and I can't remember where it is.

The question was something like ,"Why in other religions do we refer to their stories as myths but in Christianity we refer to the stories as truth? What is the difference?"

Anybody want to comment?

How does The United Church “of Canada” contribute to the health and healing of Canada?

It’s been about a week since the end of the first national gathering of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Since then I’ve enjoyed joining the More Franchises: A Second Cup event where, among other things, I interacted with those “tweeting” in response to my sermon during the preaching time.

Wednesday’s Sharing Circle at the TRC (see earlier blog) also invited a former teacher to give voice to her difficult experience in a school in Saskatchewan. She arrived as a new, young teacher eager and ready for her vocation. Then she saw the dreadful basement room in which she and her students were expected to spend their days.

Bearing witness to truth is a first step toward healing and reconciliation. Facing one another as we speak truth holds the promise that we might truly listen to the depth of our own truth and the depth of others’ truth, that we might hear the cry of our own souls and the cry of others’ souls.

As mentioned in my earlier blog, yesterday I was given the honour of speaking on behalf of The United Church of Canada at the Opening Session of the first national gathering of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, along with TRC Commissioners and other leaders (Aboriginal, government, and church leaders). I began by making clear that I spoke not only for our church as Moderator but also for myself.

This morning I head to Montreal for a weekend of helping United Theological College mark the completion of its Designated Lay Ministry Residential program. Another poignant few days in a week marked by countless and varied 85th anniversary celebrations for The United Church of Canada.